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duchess

[duhch-is]

Origin

noun

the wife or widow of a duke.

a woman who holds in her own right the sovereignty or titles of a duchy.

Origin:
1300–50; Middle English duchesse < Anglo-French, Old French, feminine derivative of duc duke; see -ess

Related forms

duch·ess·like, adjective

Usage note
See -ess.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Duchess is always a great word to know.

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the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

duchess (ˈdʌtʃɪs)

—n
1.	the wife or widow of a duke
2.	a woman who holds the rank of duke in her own right

—vb
3.	informal (Austral) to overwhelm with flattering attention

[C14: from Old French duchesse, feminine of ducduke]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

duchess

c.1300, from O.Fr. duchesse, from L.L. or M.L. ducissa, fem. of dux (see duke).

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"Of all things in life, Mrs. Lee held this kind of court-service in contempt, for she was something more than republican—a little communistic at heart, and her only serious complaint of the President and his wife was that they undertook to have a court and to ape monarchy. She had no notion of admitting social superiority in any one, President or Prince, and to be suddenly converted into a lady-in-waiting to a small German Grand-Duchess, was a terrible blow."

-Henry Brooks Adams

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